Thought for Monday, 10th Week of Ordinary Time

When Jesus saw the crowds, he went up the mountain,
and after he had sat down, his disciples came to him.
He began to teach them, saying:

“Blessed are the poor in spirit,
for theirs is the Kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are they who mourn,
for they will be comforted.
Blessed are the meek,
for they will inherit the land.
Blessed are they who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
for they will be satisfied.
Blessed are the merciful,
for they will be shown mercy.
Blessed are the clean of heart,
for they will see God.
Blessed are the peacemakers,
for they will be called children of God.
Blessed are they who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness,
for theirs is the Kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are you when they insult you and persecute you
and utter every kind of evil against you falsely because of me.
Rejoice and be glad,
for your reward will be great in heaven.
Thus they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”

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Today we have the Beatitudes for the Gospel reading. I can only imagine how Jesus looked upon the crowds with compassion. Then He drew His disciples close to Him to teach them so that they could in turn teach the people throughout the centuries.

We have heard these Beatitudes many times throughout our lives so I thought I would focus on one of them that touched me today.

“Blessed are the clean of heart, for they will see God.”

I was reflecting on why this line caught my eye. I think it is because I have learned the truth of this statement. There have been times in my life that my heart has not been clean. Sin has a way of blinding us to the truth and beauty of God. But the evil one has a way of making us blind even to our own sinfulness. We walk in darkness and don’t even know that we are there.

I love the analogy of driving a car. When we are driving at night and our windshield is full of grime and dirt, we don’t always see how dirty it is. However, if we are driving at dawn toward the sunlight, we see clearly how dirty the windshield is.

I think the analogy is obvious. The dirt and grime represents our sin and windshield is the window to our soul. When we are living in sin and are walking in darkness, we don’t often recognize our sins. However, when we move to the Son and His light shines into our soul, we recognize how clearly we have fallen short of the glory of God.

Psalm 115:5 says, “They have eyes but they cannot see.”

Do you see the Lord clearly?

Is there anything in your life that needs to change?

Have you been to confession lately?

Take time today to move toward the Lord. Allow His light to shine into your heart. Let His purifying love transform you from the inside out. And as you allow Him in, you will begin to see the Lord more clearly. And that vision, the Beatific Vision (the ultimate direct communication with God face to face), is what we all seek.